The Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) stopped at Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico last week only to be shut down by authorities within the first 48 hours of the main event. Two hundred and forty-two players won satellites or bought in to the main event for $2700, including Costa Rican poker star Humberto Brenes and Brazilian poker stars Alex Gomes and Andre Akkari. When 89 players remained, however, the tournament was abruptly brought to a premature end. The tournament was halted despite the fact that LAPT organizers were in fact granted permission by the Mexican Ministry of the Interior to hold the tournament with no chance of reconvening.
On Sunday, PokerStars announced, “The Latin American Poker Tour confirms that it is cancelling the poker tournament in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, due to an indefinite suspension served on one of its local partners.” The remaining players will receive a generous compensation of $5000, though, which basically doubles their buy-ins. Whatever is left in the prize pool will then be divided up in equivalence to chip stacks, and players will also receive $500 into their PokerStars account to make up for the mishap.
One theory about why the tournament was closed down is that the event didn’t conform to the regulations and laws in Mexico, even though PokerStars assured that they did adhere and cooperate with the Mexican government regulations. PokerStars also assured the press that LAPT lawyers were researching the incident. Another theory is that cash games were taking place on the side, which isn’t unusual for big tournaments, but these games may not have been in compliance with local or national laws. Neither of these rumors, however, has been confirmed.
The LAPT will continue, stopping in Chile in January, 2009 and in Uruguay in March, 2009. In addition, PokerStars has announced that a Russian Poker Tour will launch, which is set to visit St. Petersburg and Moscow, although visa regulations that surround visitation to Russia may be a problem for some players. Russian players, however, will have no problem making it to this revolutionary poker tour.
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